What the cast of The Handmaid's Tale looks like in real life
Hulu's Heartbreaking Zorrowing Omelle's Tale has a knack for making the most beautiful and glamorous actresses almost unrecognizable with their wide-lens storylines. According to Vulture, close-ups are typically shot on a longer lens which results in a “more flattering” frame, but which it wouldn't do for Gilead. Reed Morano, who directed the first three episodes of the series, carefully crafted the first 28mm to mimic the confinement of the waitress, a technique so effective it won her an Emmy.
This raw approach left fans of the series well acquainted with star Elisabeth Moss's eye circles, who became the co-stars of her awkward close-ups. However, the actress told Yahoo Style that she likes it in her eye bags on set ("the more you have, the better") and are actually highlighted with makeup on the day she feels particularly rested. Honestly, when you're in the midst of conducting a quiet stand, who has time to put on makeup, right? And then there is the wardrobe.
Gilead seems completely devoid of the Hollywood tendency to glam their main ladies with tight-fitting clothing regardless of plot, leaving the actors playing this creepy dystopian story looking for almost nothing like their warts-and-all portraits in the series. Here's a spoiler full of looks (seriously, step away if you're not completely caught up with the show) to what the cast of Omelle's Tale looks like in real life.
Elisabeth Moss (June Osborne / Offred)
The Scariest Bits The omelle's tale focuses on the patriarchal policies propelled by the extremist religious group that hired America to form Gilead - this and Offred's extreme close-ups. Girl knows her way around some well placed eye bags for dramatic effect. Although Elisabeth Moss, who won an Emmy for her portrayal of Offred in 2017, doesn't practice the same extremist religion depicted in the series, she is a member of a different, controversial religious group in real life.
According to Elle, Moss grew up in the Church of Scientology. While she remains a relatively mum on the subject, she talked about how religion differs from the Republic of Gilead. “Religious freedom, tolerance and understanding of truth and equal rights for every race, religion and creed are extremely important to me. The most important things to me probably, ”he wrote on Instagram (via Elle) in response to a commenter who compared the two. “And so Gilead and [The Handmaid's Tale] hit me on a very personal level.
Elle reports that she was also known to quietly duke out with Leah Remini, a former Scientologist who has been vocal about the organization's harmful practices. In 2017 - the same year Moss won two Emmys - Remini took home an Emmy for his A&E series Leah Remini: Scientology and the Postwar. Moss would leave the room when Remini accepted his award.
Samira Wiley
Most Samira Wiley fans are still wobbly from - Spoiler alert! - the death of his character in Orange is the New Black. We're happy Netflix introduced it to us in the first place, but did they really have to take it away so soon? Now, Wiley has completely jumped ship to a rival streaming service (we can't say for sure Hulu has hunted her, but it looks like so from the outside). Sadly OITNB won't live to see another day, but Wiley's The Maid's Tale character will be - barring any unexpected rush with one of Gilead's performers.
In 2018, Wiley won an Emmy for her portrayal of Moira, who managed to become one of the few waitresses to escape Gilead alive, but may not be as tenacious in real life. Adopting the mentality of a enslaved child factory turned prostitute and growing member of the resistance has certainly taken a toll on Wiley's psyche.
“Being an actor is crazy,” Vanity Fair said. "You are voluntarily putting yourself in these terrible situations and trauma situations."
Alexis Bledel (Emily / Ofglen)
Most of us have never wanted to see Rory Gilmore, the lovable Gilmore Girl and probably terrible reporter, pulling out her teeth after suffering from radiation poisoning in a toxic waste trench. There is something to be said about Stars Hollow's low stakes. After all, the biggest mistakes Rory ever made was studying so hard he overslept and cheating on his high school sweetheart, the aftermath of which stopped Modo short of genital mutilation.
Do you think this is a crazy juxtaposition? Well Vanity Fair hailed Bledel as "Omella's Tale Secret Weapon" largely because of the stark contrast between her Gilmore Girls persona and Ofglen, even though the couple lives about two and a half hours apart in real-world geography. And while both Rory and the former professor are highly educated and strongly wanted, for the former, it meant having the chance to write a story for Gq that ultimately didn't work out. For the latter, it meant having the ability to shovel radioactive dirt into the Colonies, which fortunately didn't work either. (Ofglen wouldn't even have been allowed to read Rory Gq piece if it was actually written.)
Of course, in Gilead, Bledel was no longer the cerbia-eyed teenager crying over the drama of the kids in his suburban bedroom. Instead, the show exposed every emotion and wrinkle, those we are not used to seeing on the typically youthful actress. But as creepy as the portrait was, it was just as fruitful. Bledel took home an Emmy for the part in 2017.
Joseph Fiennes (Commander Fred Waterford)
Joseph Fiennes doesn't look very different from Commander Waterford in real life, but that's where their similarities end. Waterford has no qualms about enslaving and assaulting women in an attempt to repopulate Gilead. His wife's finger was also amputated because he had the audacity to read in public, but Fiennes drew a line in the sand (or radioactive dirt) where Waterford did not.
Fiennes has to act out all of the Waterford atrocities, but a rape scene from Season 2, Episode 9, was his breaking point. The scene occurs during the Waterfords' diplomatic trip to Canada, where the Commander has a heated interaction with Offred's husband. After the exchange, he rapes Serena in their hotel room.
"I think in many ways, as repulsive and ugly and evil as Fred is, I have to defend parts of him," EW Kristen Baldwin said in an interview. “[The scene] just has no lead for me. I had to go out on a limb and refuse to do it because I felt that even though Fred is who he is, he is human. And I think it would be pulling him out of interacting with Luke ... it would be digesting that and trying to figure it out.
A couple of emails later, and Fiennes got the scene permanently cut.
Yvonne Strahovski (Serena Joy)
Serena Joy is one of the most captivating characters in The Omella's Tale. At first, she was a villain - a staunch Gilead supporter, who gave up her booming career as an author and public speaker to uphold the regime's values (which ironically, they don't even allow her to read). In the second season, it begins to unravel. Later episodes show Joy slowly realizing that she is to blame for her own oppression.
Along the way to this painful realization, Joy commits increasingly horrific acts in an attempt to cover up her guilt and frustration. For actress Yvonne Strahovski, this meant pretending to do the unimaginable - helping Commander Waterford rape Offred in an attempt to naturally induce labor. Unsurprisingly, Strahovski doesn't share Joy's moral compass.
“This was one of the most horrible scenes. This is one of the scenes I dying to talk about… which was definitely one of the horrible scenes that went down where it felt - I felt really bad on set doing it, ”said E! News.
This doesn't mean Joy is totally awful. His The Maid's Tale Character partially redeems himself. At the end of Season 2, she eventually gives up on her baby in the hope that she will have a life free from the culture of oppression she helped create. In real life, Strahovski welcomed her baby boy in October 2018.
Anne Dowd (Aunt Lydia)
Ann Dowd's aunt Lydia is one of the most terrifying characters on TV. The Handmaid Maid matriarch (or as matriarch as some might pOssibly be in Gilead) regularly beats, tortures and disfigures the maids when they fall out of line. Oddly, at the root there is a deep love for the women who cares. This is the creepy thing: she truly believes her actions are for the greater good, and is treacherous in her delivery. Her polyhedon portrait earned an Emmy.
Ann Dowd told ABC that she immediately felt connected to Aunt Lydia when she read the script because the character was a teacher, and tries to "not judge". (That's a tall order while playing a woman who incites murder, isn't it?) Yet, despite Dowd's personal distance from the character's more unsavory traits, Dowd admitted to channeling Aunt Lydia for an extra boost of toughness. The actress, who has a son on the autism spectrum, admitted turning on Aunt Lydia's switch when a woman at the supermarket said her son "needs to go to the nuthouse."
"I said: 'I'll take your hair. I wrap it around your neck. And I'm going to pull, '”Dowd told ABC. "He took a step back ... I said, 'This is my son. Do not you ever do it again. Never. And she said, 'Oh. Well, I mean, 'And I said,' No, no. You should be afraid of me. Because I'll find you. '"
Nobody messes with Aunt Lydia.
Madeline Brewery (Janine / Ofwarren)
Decent Janine in Madness is one of the most anxiety-inducing story lines in The Omelle's Tale. We are torn between opening our eyes to the truth and cheering on its illusions, which seem like a saving grace in Gilead's dystopia. The character begins to unravel after challenging Aunt Lydia in the Red Center and losing her eye as a punishment. We later discover that she has fallen in love with her commander (her rapist) and begins to believe that the couple runs off with their baby. Along the way, Janine is nearly stoned to death, threatens suicide, and is sent to the Colonies.
In real life, Madeline Brewer is another ripped actress Orange Is The New Black, where she played an addict who overdosed in Season 1. We're happy to report that she managed to keep both of her eyes, but urges viewers to Don't erase her Handmaid's Maid character like nuts.
“I didn't want to just chalk up to be the crazy one. There is a lot more to her, ”said Harper's Bazaar. “Janine's view of the world after she took out her eyeball and spent nearly two years in Gilead - her version of crazy is very intelligent and calculated. He's doing what he has to do to survive, and for some people he's just playing pretend.
Amanda Brugel
We don't learn much about Rita in The Omelle's Tale until the Season 2 finale - and there's a good reason. Marta, who act as servants for high-ranking families, appear to be the most neglected class of people in Gilead, and this is essential to the resistance. These invisible keepers eavesdrop on the Commanders without a second thought. They are aware of everything that happens in Gilead, which ultimately helped them create what The Huffington Post calls the "Underground Martha Railroad."
Just like her character Rita, Amanda Brugel is a low-key maverick. It may not be fighting a patriarchal religious cult that enslaves fertile women, but it is making great strides for women in Hollywood. The actress squashed the industry's weary perception of age and ended up finding the biggest hit of her career in her 40s.
“The fact that my 40th year was my most successful year - as an actor, but I also think as a mother and wife - really shows how much this is changing,” said Ciao Magazine. "It doesn't end at 40, it just starts, as far as I'm concerned."
Max Minghella (Nick Blaine)
Max Minghella is leading a double life, both in real life and on screen. His character Nick can act as a servant who gains Commander Waterford's trust and praise, but he is also an eye that helps carry on the resistance. In real life, that American accent that we are so used to hearing while whispering things to Offred that could probably kill him is completely an act. Minghella is English.
According to The New York Times, Minghella's father is the late Anthony Minghella, the Oscar-winning director and screenwriter responsible for such blockbusters as The Talented Mr. Ripley. Max, a graduate of Columbia University, doesn't have the same talent for working on the production side of things as his father. In fact The Omelle's Tale is one of his first acting projects since 2015 In the Forest, when he pressed pause to be a step star behind the camera. "I took a couple of years off acting and was mainly producing for those years," said Minghella Magazine Interview. "I found that I wasn't very good at it, it's not a skill set I have."
If there is a skill set that Minghella possesses, he looks totally cool as he secretly leads a revolution (he is also a great actor).
Nina Kiri (Alma / Ofrobert)
Nina Kiri may not seem glamorous in her role as Alma, Offred's contact in the resistance, but the Serbian-born actress is gorgeous in real life. Let's be honest: Giant red robes aren't really flattering to anyone. The Waitress's Tale is probably Kiri's biggest role, but she worked for a decade as an actress in Canada. She managed to fall into the world of horror, appearing in films such as Heretics And Leave Her Out, despite not particularly liking the genre.
“It was a question of what was available to me. I have never been a huge fan of horror, although I appreciate and admire the genre much more now than I did before working on those horror films, ”said Centro Cinema Serbia. "For me as a budding actor, these were great opportunities to play lead roles, to discover my characters, to develop and build them, and to take risks in the safety of a small indie film crew."
The maid's tale has nothing to do with demonic entities, but it seems like a logical next step for Kiri. If he can handle the paranormal, Gilead should be a walk on the cake.
